One night about 48 years ago I was babysitting my nephew Tony. Like most kids he wanted me to tell him a story before he went to bed. I made this story up and then years later wrote it down as a children's story. If you like it and want to get a copy of it for your kids or grandkids, it's for sale on Amazon.
THE ÉCLAIR VENDOR
By
Stu Cassell
Copyright © 2015 Stu Cassell
All rights reserved.
ISBN-10: 1508512949
ISBN-13: 978-1508512943
Dedication
To my nephew Anthony who inspired this story when he was a wee little whipper snapper.
Once upon a time, there was a little boy named Anthony who was getting ready to go to bed and asked his Grandpa, “Would you please tell me a story, Grandpa Al, before I go to bed?” His Grandpa said, “Sure,” and helped Anthony change into his pajamas while he began to make up a story for his grandson.
“Once upon a time, there was a little boy who was walking down a country road, when all of a sudden he came across an éclair vendor. The little boy approached the éclair vendor and said, ‘My, what lovely éclairs! May I have one?’
The éclair vendor looked at the little boy and said, ‘Gee, I’m sorry, little boy, but these are very special éclairs, and you must be very special to get one.’
‘Oh,’ replied the little boy, ‘but I am very special!’
The éclair vendor decided to take the little boy at his word. ‘Okay, little boy, you may have an éclair. That will be $5.00, please.’
‘$5.00,’ cried the little boy, ‘you’ve got to be kidding!’
The éclair vendor just smiled pleasantly and said, ‘I told you they were special; do you think special comes cheap these days?’
‘I guess you’re right,’ said the little boy. And with that, he reached into his pocket and pulled out $5.00 and paid the éclair vendor.
The little boy decided to take the éclair home to enjoy, and immediately returned to his house. When he got inside, he set the éclair down on a plate on the kitchen table and just looked at it.
‘Hmmm,’ he thought, ‘I wonder what makes this éclair so special.’
A second later the little boy took a bite out of the éclair. The éclair was delicious, but for $5.00 the little boy expected something more than just delicious. He took another bite, and then as he looked around the room everything seemed to be getting bigger. He took another bite and the room and furniture grew even bigger. Finally, he took the last bite. As he finished the éclair, the room grew even bigger, and he began to realize something.
‘Oh, my gosh,’ he cried as he looked up at the giant chair before him, ‘this room hasn’t grown bigger; I’ve grown SMALLER!’
And so he had; in fact, the little boy had shrunk to about the size of a peanut.
The little boy was very unhappy. Every day he sat crying, feeling quite sorry for himself, until one day, he got a job as a paperweight and lived happily ever after.
“There,” said Grandpa Al, “how did you like that story, Anthony?”
Anthony replied, “That really wasn’t very good, Grandpa Al. Can you tell me another story before I go to bed?”
Grandpa Al said, “Okay, just one more story, and then you go right to sleep.
“Once upon a time, there was a little boy who was riding a bicycle down a country road, when all of a sudden he had a flat tire and decided to take a bus home. He walked his bike to the bus stop and waited for the bus to arrive.
‘Oh, but I must,’ cried the little boy, ‘otherwise, I’ll be late for dinner, and my mother will get worried!’
The bus driver looked at the little boy and decided to bend the rules just this once and said, ‘Well, all right, you can bring your bike on the bus, but just this once.’
The little boy looked at the éclair vendor and his éclairs and said, ‘My, what lovely éclairs. May I have one?’
The éclair vendor answered, ‘Gee, I’m sorry little boy, but these are very special éclairs, and you must be very special to get one.’
‘Oh, but I am very special’, said the little boy.
The éclair vendor looked at the little boy and decided to take him at his word.
‘Okay, little boy, you may have an éclair. That will be $5.00, please.’
‘$5.00,’ cried the little boy, ‘you’ve got to be kidding!’
The éclair vendor just smiled pleasantly and said, ‘I told you they were special; do you think special comes cheap these days?’
‘I guess you’re right,’ said the little boy; and with that, he reached into his pocket, pulled out a five dollar bill, and paid the éclair vendor.’”
All of a sudden, Anthony interrupted his Grandpa and excitedly screamed, “That’s the same story!! I want to hear a different story. Tell me a different story!”
Grandpa Al laughed and said, “Okay, Anthony, I’ll tell you a completely different story.
Once upon a time, there was a little girl who was riding a donkey down a country road, when all of a sudden the donkey had a flat tire.
When the bus came, the driver told the little girl, ‘I’m sorry, but you can’t bring that donkey on this bus; it’s against regulations.’
‘Oh, but I must,’ cried the little girl. ‘If I don’t, it will hurt his feelings. Besides, he’s got a flat tire.’
‘Well, in that case,’ said the bus driver, ‘it’s okay.’
The little girl paid the fare for herself and the donkey and walked to the back of the bus, where there was just one seat left next to an éclair vendor. She sat down while the donkey stood in the aisle. She looked at the éclair vendor and said, ‘My, but those are lovely éclairs; may I have one?’
‘Oh, but I am very special!’ said the little girl. ‘How many other little girls do you see these days traveling on a bus with a donkey with a flat tire?’
‘Hmmm, I guess you have a point there. Okay, little girl, you may have an éclair. That will be $5.00, please.’
‘$5.00!’ cried the little girl. ‘Are you kidding?’
The éclair vendor responded, quite seriously, ‘I never joke about my éclairs.’
The little girl decided to take a chance and buy one of these so-called special éclairs.
‘Do you take plastic?’ inquired the little girl.
‘Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Diners Card, Discover Card,’ replied the éclair vendor.
She reached into her Louis Vuitton bag and pulled out her American Express Gold Card and paid the éclair vendor.
At this point in the story, Anthony once again interrupted his Grandpa and screamed even louder than before, “OMG! That’s the same stupid story! I want to hear a different story; an entirely different story!!!”
By this time, Anthony’s Grandpa was laughing his head off, because he was just having a little fun with Anthony by telling him these crazy versions of the same story.
“Okay, Anthony, simmer down. I’ll tell you just one more story, and I promise it will be entirely different.
Once upon a time, there was a little donkey who was riding his bicycle down a country road, when all of a sudden he came across an old man with a flat éclair waiting for a bus.
‘Oh my,’ said the little donkey, ‘that’s really quite an ordinary looking éclair. Want to give it to me?’
‘I’m sorry, little donkey,’ said the old man, ‘but this is a very ordinary éclair, and you must be very ordinary to have one.’
‘Oh, but I am!’ cried the little donkey. ‘Didn’t you see me riding this bike instead of driving a car? That’s very ordinary.’
Just then the flat éclair looked at the little donkey and then at the old man, and asked, ‘Is he kidding?’
The donkey shouted, ‘Kidding? I’m not kidding - who ever heard of a donkey with a sense of humor, anyway?"
The old man turned to the donkey and said, ‘Hmmm, I guess you have a point there. Okay, little donkey, you may have this éclair. That will be $5.00, please.’
The donkey reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of cash. ‘Do you have change for a twenty?’
The old man shook his head regretfully, ‘Sorry, but all I have is fifteen cents on me.’
‘Tell you what,’ said the donkey, ‘you can keep the change.’
‘Why, thank you!’ shouted the happy old man.
The little donkey decided to take the éclair home and eat it. He had the old man put the éclair in a paper bag and he got on his bicycle and rode home. When he got home, he took the éclair into the kitchen and set it down on a plate on the table.
The éclair looked around and said, ‘Hey. donkey, this is quite a place you’ve got here. What do you have to pay for rent?’
The donkey replied, ‘Oh, about $475.00 a month, plus utilities.’
The éclair nodded in appreciation. ‘Very reasonable; very reasonable indeed.’
The little donkey moved toward the éclair and said, ‘Well, I guess I’d better eat you now.’ But the éclair stopped him by asking, ‘Say, donkey, is that any way to treat a guest? Besides, I’m flat, remember? You don’t really want to eat a flat éclair, do you?’
The little donkey thought about it for a moment and then decided not to eat the éclair after all. Instead, he decided to let the éclair stay with him and share his apartment. However, after a month or two, the little donkey told the éclair that he thought the éclair should help out with the rent.
So the next day, the éclair went out to a country road to become an old man vendor.
The éclair looked at the little boy and said, ‘Gee, I’m sorry, little boy, but these are very special old men, and you must be very special to have one.’
‘Oh,’ said the little boy, ‘but I am very special!’”
At this point in the story, Grandpa Al looked over to Anthony, wondering why he hadn’t interrupted the story again, and discovered that his little grandson was fast asleep.
Grandpa Al smiled and tenderly pulled the covers over his sleeping grandson and, leaning forward, gave him a kiss on the forehead.
He quietly tiptoed out of the room, but had to chuckle as he reached the door and heard Anthony mumble in his sleep, “Oh, but I am very special!”
THE END
Post Note: No animals were injured during the writing of this story.
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